Allegiances
by Himonky
Summary: Unit 02 has been recalled to Germany to deal with the latest Angel, but Gendo seems to think that the German government has another motive. Soon the world will erupt into a chaos that the Angels could only have dreamed of creating. ON HOLD
1. Walk Down the Killing Road

Allegiances

From war humanity appeared, and into war humanity shall disappear.

"The next World War will be fought with stones,"- Albert Einstein

Prologue: Walk down the Killing Road

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"Kaworu said that he loved me," Shinji said, finally giving his thoughts a voice, "I've never felt such kindness before. He was like me, and he was like Ayanami. I liked him too. Kaoru should have survived. He was much better than I am. Kaoru should have survived, not me. He deserved to live."

Overhead the moon shone down on the lake created by Unit 00's destruction. The bright reflection had originally blinded Shinji, but he had grown used to it in the long hours he had been crouched on the shore. He skipped another rock across the lake and watched the ripples spread quickly, distorting the reflections of the moon. Had his mind been less preoccupied he'd have compared the moon's shape to something else, just like someone would compare a cloud.

He gazed out into the lake, wondering why Kaworu had chosen for him to live, why Kowaru had chosen to die rather then kill humanity. 'Perhaps it was simply what made Kaworu better,'

Shinji thought, 'and the fact that he had been willing to die for others, rather then cling to his own life selfishly.'

"No," Misato said. Rather then gaze out into the depths of the lake she watched Shinji. She wondered about his thoughts, even as she gave voice to her own, "The one who deserves to survive is the one who has the will to make it happen. He wished for death. He ignored his will to survive and chose to die for a false hope. Your survival is not a mistake Shinji," she concluded.

Rather then sorrow and regret, Misato's thoughts dwelled on a bright future. She envisioned that humanity might now be able to shed the darkness of NERV and the Battles of Tokyo-3 and continue into a better day. Rather then sorrow and regret, Misato saw hope.

It was something Misato had seen many times before. Throughout her whole life she'd had hopes, only to see them dashed nearly every time. Her hopes to live with both of her parents married happily when she was a child, a smaller happiness in life with her parent's separated, life with Kaji in college, and then life with Shinji and Asuka in Tokyo-3. Each of these had been her hopes, her desire to live on.

But each time these moments ended with a change for the worse. Divorce, the Second Impact, graduation, and Tabris had ended each and every one of her hopes. But still, somehow she continued to hope for a better future.

Misato's word's seemed to strike a nerve with Shinji. "Misato," he asked, his voice a mixture of a sob and a demand, "How can you be so cruel?"

His youthful mind could not bear to think that Misato truly thought Kowaru was weak. How could Misato, one of the few people in his life that he'd looked up to, think that another one of those important people had done the right thing in dying?

Misato didn't give him an immediate answer. She seemed lost in her thoughts, simply gazing through Shinji. Her answer would be thought out, if nothing else.

Shinji stood on unsteady legs and began to walk away. However, he didn't make it very far before he was stopped by Misato's answer. "Survival of the fittest Shinji," she called after him, "Kaworu was weak, therefore his species died off. Now it is time for humanity to rule this world."

Shinji stopped and turned back to look at her. His heart beat quickly. He hadn't slept since the destruction of Kowaru…although it seemed more like a murder to him. Lack of sleep, coupled with the stress of the last few weeks, made him turn back. "I never figured you for a Darwinist," he said, his voice weak and feeble, unlike his resolve to continue. "You are a hypocrite," he continued, "to wear that cross and ignore it by saying that."

He turned and finished walking away, leaving Misato with her jaw fully dropped. Once she was over the shock of being insulted by Shinji she snapped her mouth shut. Her teeth connected with an audible click. Misato turned on her heel and walked away, her emotions swirling with a mixture of surprise, anger, and disappointment.

It seemed to her that it really was too bad that Shinji couldn't understand that only now was humanity going to come into its prime. That soon humanity would become even better at it's most ancient pastime. 'That is,' Misato thought, 'helping one another become stronger and smarter for all of our benefits.' Shedding loneliness was finally entering Misato's grasp for the first time since the Second Impact.

The thing that was much worse than Shinji not realizing "it" was Misato not realizing the truth either. Misato didn't realize just what humanity's most ancient pastime really was. For, while humans had helped each other become smarter or stronger; the original purpose of it had always been for conflict.

And, as humanity grew larger, stronger, and smarter, the name of conflict had actually shrunk to a little three letter word. War.

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Round and round this fic goes, were it stops only I know. CnC appreciated.

Well, I'm back after my break. Only problem is, right after finishing Rivalitas I started planning this. Now, coming back to it after a week, I'm not liking it as much.

I did a lot of different things over my break. I read some HP Lovecraft and quite a bit of fanfiction. I am also in the process of completely rewatching Evangelion. All of these combined to make me not want to write this as much. Still, I'm going to push on in order to improve my writing.

Don't judge this yet, it has got a long way to go.


	2. ReCall

Allegiances

"The next World War will be fought with stones"- Albert Einstein

Chapter 1: ReCall

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This room had not been used in a very long time.

Its twin of a room had been used much more recently. The holo-pads in that room had been used only days before, in an entirely different sort of conference.

The walls of this room had never really felt threats. Sure, its occupants had tried, but the just couldn't do what SEELE did without trying. Even the leader of the council seemed subdued here, keeping his true voice of command to himself and allowing the others to all voice their opinions.

Had this room not been owned and operated by NERV it wouldn't even have been cleaned. Several months, nearly a year had passed since its last use. Commander Ikari had not even bothered to order it cleaned.

But he didn't have to. NERV employed the largest cleaning services ever, plus two other services nearly as big. These had a lot to clean, and a lot to be careful of. Employees literally served a tour of duty here, working quietly and hoping they wouldn't try to clean the wrong room. NERV did have absolute legal immunity and it had proven this on several occasions.

Both this room and its twin were kept spotless. A worker had found them seven months ago and discovered that they were rooms that could be cleaned and have the worker live. He had passed it to his friend when he was rotated away. From there it had spread, being notified as one of the most wanted places on the duty list.

Commander Ikari had not used this room for a long time. Now, for some unknown reason, he had been called back to it. 'The UN appointed council has no reason to call this,' he thought, 'Keel has to have ordered the meeting.' Through his glasses he gazed into the emptiness of the room, waiting for the five other projectors start up so that he could finish with this nonsense.

His posture remained the same, at least the visible part, to the others as they all appeared at once. Beneath the desk he sat at his feet quivered slightly, wanting to reach out and kick each and every one of the council members, the leader of the gathering more then any of the others.

"Why have you called me here?" he asked immediately, no hint of disrespect in his voice. He did not want to give them even a moment to gather their thoughts. Not that they would need it, they had all surely done that before coming into the meeting.

"Such disrespect Ikari," sneered the councilman from Russia. The man had been an interesting choice for a member country, Russia having shrunk into a seeming obliviousness to the rest of the world. Only occasionally would it reach out and try to do anything.

Even these things were rarely of any importance.

"Roll the clip," snarled the council-man from Germany, a man with small glasses on his to large nose. This member seemed angry, now even more then usual. His breath came in short gasps, as if his fat body had just finished running somewhere.

The room sank into even deeper darkness as the clip began. It was a 3-D representation, taking up all the space between the council members and Gendo. Commander Ikari's eyes widened when he saw what the video was showing.

'How is this possible?' he thought. The video showed citizens running for their lives. The monstrosity, no, the angel stopped from time to time and shot one of its head out to eat them as they attempted to escape.

It was a bizarre creation. It seemed different from how the other messengers had always appeared, if any pattern besides blue could've been said to have existed between the Angels. It had a pair of heads, each with six shining eyes on stalks. Each eye swiveled around, searching the night for its targets. Whenever an eye found a group of fleeing humans the head would lower and scoop them up.

It walked on four legs, like a few of the other messengers had, but it also had a tail. The tail swept around, smashing humans who had had the "intelligence" to run in a different direction from the others of their kind. At least they didn't see their fate coming like their countryman had.

Gendo decided the general color was an olive green with pieces here and there in red and purple. Each eye seemed to glow a different color, all twelve of them. Gendo didn't bother to take notice of each of these colors; he'd already decided to move on.

Both of the heads balanced on necks to thin to support their weight. Still, they stayed aloft. The heads were only lowered when it was time for the Angel to feed again.

'That's what's wrong,' Gendo thought, 'its killing the humans.' Despite the high number of human fatalities involved in the Angel conflicts Gendo had never known an Angel to actually waste energy on the weak ants at its feet. True, an Angel could not actually waste energy, their S2 engines kept them powered infinitely, but this also meant that they didn't need to eat. Angels had only stirred to actual combat, rather then attempts to enter Central Dogma, when an Evangelion was deployed. It didn't add up.

"I see," he spoke as the clip ended, "What do you wish for me to do?"

"You **must **deploy an Evangelion to stop the Angel," the German emissary demanded. Gendo noticed that the man's breathing had not slowed, even after the considerable length of the clip.

"I am sorry," Gendo replied from beneath his hands, "But I am afraid that we have not received any information on this newest Angel. I am also not familiar with the geography of that event."

"It's in Germany," spoke the Russian envoy.

"That's why he's in such a stir," the American ambassador spoke up. He jerked his head towards the eccentric German messenger.

"Yes!" the German panted again, "We are in a desperate state of emergency here. And all because you guaranteed us that an Angel would not attack in this part of the world! If we'd known that an Angel would shown up here we never would've sent you Unit 02 and its pilot."

Gendo nodded calmly. Apparently this man was not up to date, or else he would've demanded the Second Child's return to her homeland when her mental breakdown began. That is, just shortly after her arrival in Japan.

"I will send an Evangelion as fast as I can," Ikari said, "But I can not guarantee its success."

The German slammed his fist onto his desk. "Then send two dammit!" he shouted. Gendo only barely managed to notice the Russian make a small smile. He was sure that no one else in the conference room, except perhaps Keel, had noticed. It didn't help the Russian's case that Keel scowled.

"I'm afraid I cannot at this time," Gendo said. He thought he was beginning to catch onto their game now.

"Why not?" asked the Chinese ambassador, attempting to keep some sort of control of the situation.

That was just like the modern China; try to act like they were the peace dealers. The only reason they tried to do this was to stop others from attacking them. 'China is only mildly military minded these days,' Gendo had to remind himself.

Gendo decided he had better answer fast; the German emissary looked like he might explode soon. The Russian didn't seem particularly happy either. "I'm afraid that I only have one transport plane at this time. All the others were damaged or destroyed when Unit 03 was capture," he said. Just to add a little fuel to the fire, he decided to throw in, "If you'd approved my budget requests we, of course, wouldn't be having this problem."

Three of the council members scowled and the German fumed. Keel continued to contemplate Gendo with his hands folded neatly in front of him. 'Rubbing that in their face should end this now,' he thought. "I believe," he continued, "that I should probably go prepare for the Evangelions launch." He stood and waited to be dismissed.

The German, through gritted teeth, waved him off before disappearing. As always, the other council members all went together, disappearing in an instant.

Now only Ikari and Keel remained. "What are you aiming at Keel?" Gendo asked neutrally.

"Instrumentality," Keel responded, "as always." Then he to faded into the darkness of the room.

Ikari stood and went to find his second-in-command. Fuyutsuki would need to hear about this, Gendo wanted to make sure that his interpretation had been correct.

It was very rare for Gendo Ikari to second guess himself. Nevertheless, he began to now.

------

Fuyutsuki stood in front of Gendo's desk as the story was told. Kozo did not look around or even glance at the detail pressed into each square inch of the room; he had long since given up trying to understand every aspect of this room.

He had also decided that Gendo had as well. Despite the fact that Gendo had executed all of the dozen painters and craftsman that he'd pressed into service to make this room, Gendo could not have had enough time to understand every inch of their work. When the room had been finished Gendo had barely even glanced at it before asking the craftsman if they had followed the layout perfectly.

When they'd said that they had, sure that they would be released by his mercy, they'd been gunned down by the pair of Section 2 agents next to Gendo and Fuyutsuki. Neither commanders of NERV had even blinked at the killings.

Kozo blinked now. "Another Angel?" he asked Gendo for authentication.

"That is what they told me," he said calmly, "but I don't believe that they were telling the truth."

"Why would they lie?" Fuyutsuki asked, perplexed by the fact that their "allies" in the council would make such an obvious attempt at working behind NERVs back. They surely could've done good enough job that Gendo would not have noticed right away.

"They want an Evangelion deployed to Germany," Gendo answered, "and I noticed that the Russian seemed especially happy when the possibility of two deployments was discussed."

It dawned on Fuyutsuki then. "I see," he said. His voice was laden with sadness and the wisdom of old age. It had become obvious to him that the council could've done a better job…if they'd all been working together. Either the American and Chinese Ambassadors were especially good actors or they had no ideas about the German's and Russian's plans.

"What will you do then?" he asked Gendo.

Gendo settled into his most comfortable position. "We will send them the least essential piece in the puzzle," he said. Fuyutsuki nodded calmly, understanding.

-----

Well, that's the most Gendo I've ever written. And the premiere of Keel in one of my stories. Let me know what you think. Thanks to both of my reviews so far.

Everyone else, I know that the first chapter didn't have to review about, and this doesn't have much either, but you can still let me know what you think. Ideas for what I might do? Was everyone in character? You liked... You disliked... Constructive criticism is appreciated, as are compliments.

Hell, fill in the questions up there and you've given me one hell of a review.


	3. ReDeploy

Allegiances

"The next World War will be fought with stones,"- Albert Einstein

Chapter 2: ReDeploy

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All systems were green.

All of the engines were lit and glowing, the Evangelion was locked into its mount, and the pilots had just finished with their final checks. The control tower gave them permission to launch. The carrier, the same one that had carried Evangelion 03 across the ocean so many months before, began trundling down the runway.

Its precious cargo, a fully battle prepared Evangelion, was fused to the carrier at the shoulder pylons with Bakelite. It would not fall away during the flight, but neither would its pilot be able to free the monstrosity in any sort of an emergency.

But it wasn't like she had anything to worry about. After all, NERV was a universally feared and respected organization. No one would dare attack a NERV craft. Even more unlikely was an attack on a NERV craft carrying her Evangelion. Anyone would know that was suicide. Unless they knew that she couldn't pilot…

But if anyone was that stupid then the 40 VTOL escorts would be more then enough to protect her. It would be a safe trip from the insides of her Evangelion Unit 02. All she had to do was sit and wait for NERV 03 to contact her and begin her briefing.

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Shinji burst through the doorway at nearly full tilt, barely slowing to push the door open. Once through the doorway he stopped and looked around. The sun blared down on him from its lofty perch. Shinji barely felt the heat, it was more the concentrate of light that made him stop and examine the surrounding area.

The doors behind him were already closed, covering the steps that he had taken from the elevator. The runway was a different matter entirely. It stretched out in front of Shinji, going off to both his left and his right. He could barely see buildings across the runway from him. Closer, buildings and a control tower sat nestled next to the building Shinji had just come out of. It was a nest of military and civilian activities, all catering to the wills of NERV. Ignoring the lights and the sun Shinji turned to his left to see what had been on the runway only moments before.

'I'm too late,' Shinji thought as he watched the great fleet of VTOLs follow the Evangelion laden carrier away from the setting sun. Asuka was gone now, off to Germany to face the Angel that Shinji had only heard of minutes ago. He hadn't even gotten to say goodbye.

When he had heard about the Angel, and the fact that Asuka would be leaving Japan to go face it, he'd begun his sprint for the runway. He'd long since decided he needed to talk to her, but hadn't had the chance yet. She'd been so moody lately that he hadn't dared to try to communicate with her.

But when he had been told that she would be leaving he'd decided it was either now or never. Maybe if the elevator had been a little faster he could've made it.

He watched the dimly lit form of Evangelion Unit 02 shrink out of sight. Finally, when he couldn't even see a dot on the horizon, he turned and reentered the building he had come out of. While he had taken the stairs three at a time on the way out, he only took them one at a time now. There was no point in hurrying this trip; all he'd do once he got home was avoid Misato in his room. That was nothing to race back to.

It took him nearly two minutes to ascend the thirty stairs and make it to the elevator. All he could do now was wait for the elevator to arrive so that he could return to the geofront. It was much simpler to go into the geofront and then ascend then it was to walk all of the way around the Third Kyoto Lake.

The elevator doors opened to reveal someone that Shinji had not expected to meet here.

"Rei?" he asked, slightly confused as to why she had come to the runway. "Did you come to see Asuka off?" he continued as he entered the elevator.

Rei gave a small nod. "Pilot Soryu has already left?" she said in her usual monotone.

Shinji tapped his button on the elevator board and took up his position towards the back of the elevator. He leaned against the left side and said, "Yeah."

"I see," Rei said. She stood facing the only entrance and exit to the elevator. Her face was aimed straight ahead, not turned in any direction but forward.

The silence descended with the elevator. It continued for several minutes.

"How many more Angels do you think their will be?" Shinji said quietly. He'd found the silent ride uncomfortable. So, to fill the gaps he asked the one question that he wanted an answer to above all else.

"Just the eighteenth," Rei reported calmly.

"How do you know?" Shinji asked.

"I just do."

Shinji nodded calmly. Agreeing wouldn't hurt his nerves, disagreeing and worrying would. All he could do now was hope that Rei was right. And pray that Asuka was up to fighting that horrific Angel all alone.

Shinji didn't notice when Rei shivered despite the relative warmth of the elevator.

------

BEEP

The body was nearly healed completely now. It had survived both of the amputations with surprising strength. That such a young human could survive such great damage was a testament to the entire race.

BEEP

The mind was recovering equally as well; already it surfaced for hours on end. It could even remember its past, although pieces of the event that had left it here still eluded it. All that was left for it to do was to make the decision to rejoin with the body. Once it decided on this, it would be ready for the physical therapy sessions and the eventually learning of how to live without the two limbs. What to do after the healing would be up to the mind as well.

BEEP

But it was not happening now. At this moment the mind slept and the body snored. Both were despondent to everything besides the strongest of needs.

BEEP

Eventually the mind and body would awaken and decide to begin the path to freedom. Then they would be made ready for their future trials. It was only a matter of time before Touji Suzuhara was freed from his mechanical womb and returned to the active life he had once had. It was only a matter of time.

BEEP

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"Roger that Delta," said the control tower, "You are clear to land on runway 23 in twenty-five minutes."

Onboard the Evangelion transport carrier Asuka sat in Unit 02's entry plug listening to the communications chatter. She had her legs pulled in and her arms wrapped around them so that they were pressed against her chest. Her forehead rested on her knees. Her eyes were small slits, just barely open enough to see all of the LCL surrounding her.

Her mind had long since exhausted all normal means of entertainment for the long trip. Shortly after they'd crossed out of the US she'd begun solving advanced Physics and Calculus problems. Since then she'd run out of questions to ask herself.

For the past two hours, as she crossed over her homeland of Germany, she'd been waiting for the predicted briefing from NERV 03 to begin. So far she had waited in vain.

Asuka's eyes had begun to itch from the LCL pressing into them and she felt like her hair would need a few hours of washing and conditioning to get all of the foul liquid out. Despite the fact that she had been around it for the majority of her life she'd never been inside of Unit 02 for this long before. She was beginning to get sick of it.

Although it had been a long trip she had managed to keep some of her unwanted thoughts buried. For the most part her thoughts about her inability to pilot and this newest Angel had been left alone.

She lifted her head up slightly and, reaching out for the controls, pulled the trigger button. The plug sprang to life and she found herself looking out into the city of Berlin. It was still quite a distance off, but she could see the lights with ease.

"What am I doing here?" she asked herself quietly, "Why have I come here…alone?"

The plug gave no answers to her.

'I can't beat an angel alone,' Asuka thought, 'I'm worthless. I can't even make Unit 02 move!' She returned her head to its former position, resting on her knees. She closed her eyes as well.

"I hate everyone," she whispered into the plug, "but most of all I hate myself."

Now they came.

The tears, being only slightly denser then the LCL, sunk to the bottom of the entry plug slowly. Her arms grasped her legs tighter, her fingers leaving claw marks in her plug suite. She let out a chocked sob as she cried.

'Why are you crying?'

Asuka's mind blocked it out, thinking it was an unwanted memory.

But it wasn't. 'You said you would not cry any more.'

Asuka opened her eyes and gasped. She looked up and found a light shining down onto her. The same sort of light that that Angel had aimed down on to her. All high and mighty, it had come down and attacked her mind.

'Not again!' her thoughts rushed, 'Don't enter into me again!' Instinctively, she pulled up her arms to protect her head. She opened her mouth and screamed.

But in the entry plug, with all the communication channels closed, no one could hear her scream. No one continued to hear her whimper as the transport plane came in for a landing at the NERV airport facility. Even after the Bakelite was melted down so that Unit 02 could be freed, no one heard her scream.

Then the entry plug was ejected…

------

Thanks to all reviewers. You're starting this fic off on the right foot.

To anyone not reviewing this: You write me something and I'll write you two things. Another chapter and a reply to the review. I'll answer any questions to the best of my ability. Also, if anyone spots any problems with the storyline let me know. Your input will only make this better.

I know, this is just more building, but the real story will take off next chapter. It should be out sometime next weekend.


	4. Raising Ares

Allegiances

Chapter 3: Raising Ares

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The sharp clicks of boots on marble echoed through the long tunnel, resounding off of the hard walls and thick doors leading into undistinguished rooms. A long hallway stretched out, with the ending just barely coming into sight. The whole pathway was lit surprisingly well, enough so that no shadows were visible anywhere in this buried labyrinth.

Asuka walked down the hallway in her plug suit. Two soldiers led her, with another pair following behind her. Their insignias marked all of them as lieutenants. The red and black of the badges contrasted interestingly with the light brown of the soldier's uniforms. For some reason Asuka thought she had seen that color scheme before…

Already they were approaching the end of the tunnel. At this end a pair of majors stood at strict attention. Each held a rifle in his hands, with it crossing from their inside to their outside shoulder. But it was the thick oak door between them that held Asuka's attention now. That was fine with the soldiers. Both of the majors stared straight ahead, ignoring Asuka and the lieutenants completely.

'Dolls,' Asuka thought with a small smirk, 'Just like Rei and all those others at NERV.'

The two lieutenants in front of Asuka reached the doorway and paused. They both pulled out an ID card and simultaneously swiped them through scanners. Next, they both typed out an eight-digit code into a receptor. Finally they pulled the heavy doors open. Asuka immediately stepped into the room ahead of her.

The first thing she noticed was the absence of light. Compared to the hallway she'd just exited it seemed like no light entered this room. Once her eyes adapted she noticed the sheer size of it. She'd expected something grand but this was more massive then she'd thought possible.

'Why wouldn't they light this?' she asked herself mentally. Intimidation quickly surfaced as the most likely option.

Asuka continued into the room nearly blind. However, just because she couldn't see didn't mean she didn't stride confidently. She reached what she guessed to be the center of the room and stopped. Planting her hands on her hips she called out, "Anybody home?"

She didn't even blink when the twelve monoliths surrounded here instantaneously. All she did was slowly turn about, looking at each of the numbers and smirking slightly at the "sound only" depicted on the black faces. "None of you will face me?" she asked mockingly, "I'm disappointed."

"That will be enough child," hissed the monolith marked 08.

"Silence 8," ordered the leader of the group. Asuka finished her turn and faced number 1 once more.

"Why have I been called here?" Asuka demanded to the twelve who had been gathered. Impatience had become thick in her voice.

"You have been called here to be judged," spoke the monolith marked 1. All the other monoliths were strangely silent. Asuka wondered if they really were on "sound only" or just on "listen only". She decided not to let it bother her.

"Judged?" she asked, "By the likes of you shadows?"

"We have orchestrated countless conflicts through our time," said 1, "and we have shaped your life in ways you cannot even begin to comprehend. Why-"

"Save it Keel," Asuka said, her mocking smile disappearing to be replaced by a face of brutal anger and sharp seriousness, "I know all about you and SEELE! I know how you sent my mother's soul into Unit 02 and I know how you ruined my childhood!"

She turned to face the monolith marked 08 and stared into its depth. Her eyes showed a deeper resentment then she'd ever felt towards anyone else before. "Isn't that right," she growled, "father!"

If a computer generated depiction could be said to step backwards, then the monolith representing SEELE 08 did it. "Asuka!" he began.

But SEELE 01 would not allow him to speak. "Number 8," he said, "you are dismissed for the moment." The monolith marked 08 sullenly vacated its position.

Asuka turned back to glare at 01. She released her anger by tightening her fists into solid balls and then releasing them quickly. It was oddly relaxing. She couldn't begin to imagine where she'd picked it up.

The monolith marked 01 shimmered and was replaced by an elderly man with white hair and a visor covering both of his eyes sitting at a desk. His clothes were a deep green, with a yellow trim. "Perhaps face to face will suit you better?" he asked. His posture was leaning forward and slightly to his left. He supported his enormous body weight on his left arm, his hand balled into a hammer grip.

"It always does," Asuka said. She walked forward until she appeared to be leaning on the desk. "Now, I ask again, why have I been called here?" she asked with more then a hint of teeth.

"How did you learn about us?" he demanded, unscathed by Asuka's venom.

Asuka sighed and appeared to push off of the desk. She turned and began walking back to the center of the room. She reached it and turned again. She crossed her hands beneath her breasts and said, "Chief Ikari told me."

'Ikari?' Keel couldn't believe she was saying it. "His treachery runs deeper then we expected," he remarked. 'Best to let her think we believe her,' he decided.

"Yeah. I guess so," Asuka said with a smirk.

"I suppose NERV looks after its own then," remarked the only speaking SEELE member.

Asuka snorted, "Hardly! He only told me so that I could tell him of your plans."

Keel didn't show any fear, but he felt an inkling of it. Gendo had turned into a much more formidable opponent then he'd expected. Already it was becoming a game of influence, rather then a game of wits. Perhaps this girl wasn't lying. It would be just like Ikari to put something out in the open like this, expecting the council to see right through it. "And will you?" he asked coolly.

"I'm not sure yet," Asuka said. Her expression had turned to one closely resembling boredom. "Hey! Are you ever going to answer my question?" she said calmly.

Keel bowed his head slightly. "We had originally called you here to ask you in a matter of war but…leave us."

The other ten monoliths faded instantly and in a perfectly synchronized manner. All at once.

"Now it's just you and me," Asuka remarked with a smirk.

"I think perhaps I underestimated you Asuka," Keel said, leaning forward more, "I had wanted to use you as a pawn in my games but now I am having allusions of bigger plans for you. Tell me, how suited are you to commanding troops?"

Asuka smiled devilishly and began walking to the desk again. "Better suited then anyone else you'll ever meet," she said. Reaching the desk, she leaned across it and put her face inches away from Keel's. "I'll play your game Keel, just remember one thing. She's mine. No one else's. Got it?"

Keel nodded calmly. He could tell from her face that he wouldn't need to explain to her who she would be fighting. She knew her opponents. Somehow she'd known everything that he'd planned to say to her. This would warrant investigation.

"Good," Asuka said. She turned and began walking back the way she had entered from. The doors opened for her and the soldier's outside saluted smartly.

Keel sat in the room alone. "She will be difficult to use," he remarked to himself. He made his smile, a sick thing that showed malice instead of teeth. "But she will be worth every manipulation that is necessary," he finished before his visage faded from the room, leaving it in absolute darkness.

------

'It still smells of blood,' Shinji Ikari thought as he climbed down from his entry plug. The vile orange liquid dripped off of his blue and white plug suit, but a great deal still remained in his every pore and duct.

But nothing was worse then the smell of the blood.

He grabbed a specially lubricated towel and began walking down the barren hallway towards the control tower for the synch test. As he began toweling himself off he thought, 'Why do I have to keep doing these? Rei said that the Angel Asuka's fighting was supposed to be the last one.'

His thoughts were drawn to Asuka on pure instinct, his previous thoughts having led him back down the now familiar trail. Try as he might he couldn't get any information about Asuka's condition. He could no more then guess whether she had beaten the angel and was on her way home or if she was dead and buried.

Even Misato hadn't known anything. Shinji had finally gathered up the courage to talk to her and had initiated an awkward conversation on both their parts. In the end it had all been pointless, Misato hadn't known any more then Shinji did.

'Isn't it strange?' a voice in his head asked him, 'How the director of operations doesn't know anything about an operation? It almost has to have been under her control. She has to know some details.'

But Shinji was too mad at Misato for other reasons to be mad at her about this. He reached the bridge and made a b-line for Ritsuko, bypassing Misato without a glance.

"How did I do?" he asked in a quiet voice. He neatly folded and put the towel over one of the command chairs, having finished drying his hair and body. There was on reason to keep carrying it, and he had no

"Up another fifteen points," Ritsuko reported from her position leaning over Maya's console. Neither female even turned to look at Shinji. For all they cared Shinji was already was gone. Unsurprisingly, this didn't bother him in the least.

Shinji nodded and started on his trek for the showers. Ritsuko watched him go out of the corner of her eye, noticing that he avoided Misato by going out the doors opposite from her. 'That way will take him another fifteen minutes,' she thought to herself. Part of her thought that Shinji knew that.

She put it off as an adolescent phase and returned to reading the communication from Gendo. After her release from imprisonment for the second time she'd decided she wouldn't go after him again. Finding her in the air ducts with a gun had forced Section Two to step up their protection of the commander. Ritsuko knew she wouldn't be able to get as close the second time and that she wouldn't be freed for multiple attempts at murder. Gendo had limits on these things, no matter how useful the person in question was.

So now she was left reading long distance communications from him. Worse, about the very project she'd been arrested for the first time. Her eyes skimmed over the reading, picking up the more important details. 'Begin the next series… true mass production Evangelions…produce at Matsushiro…begin end of the month…' It went on for ten pages. If Ritsuko hadn't been hyped up on caffeine and nicotine she'd have drifted to sleep on her feet. If she hadn't known of the war that was to come she wouldn't have kept going on the project.

'The true mass-production Evangelions will put an end to the war,' she thought with clarity. The only real question on her mind was whether or not they'd be finished in time to end it.


End file.
